Through contracting and timber sales, the private sector is engaged in management of national forest lands and local community economies in the United States. But there is little recent research about current relationships between these lands and timber purchasers that could better inform future timber and biomass sale and business assistance policies and programs. We...

The South?s production of pulpwood increased from 62.7 million cords in 2011 to 63.7 million cords in 2012. Roundwood production decreased by 770,000 cords to 49.3 million cords and accounted for 78 percent of the South?s total pulpwood production. The use of wood residue dropped 15 percent to 14.4 million cords in 2012. Georgia and Alabama led the South in total...

Much about stump sprout dynamics of upland hardwood trees species has been obtained in clearcuts. Information on the response of stump sprouts to alternative silvicultural treatments, including treatments that manipulate stand density and stand structure is lacking. In this study we examined the influence of harvest season and levels of basal area reduction on the...

Woody biomass can be used for the generation of heat, electricity, and biofuels. In many cases, the technology for converting woody biomass into energy has been established for decades, but because the price of woody biomass energy has not been competitive with traditional fossil fuels, bioenergy production from woody biomass has not been widely adopted. However,...

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is a renewable and biodegradable fibril that possesses high strength and stiffness resulting from high level hydrogen bonding. Films made from NFC shrink and distort as they transition from a wet state (20 wt% solids) to a state of moisture equilibrium (90 wt% solids at 50 % RH, 23 °C). Material distortions are driven by development of...

The U.S. Appalachian-Cumberland highland consists of about 62.3 million acres in portions of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia; and is divided into five sections - Blue Ridge Mountains; Interior Low Plateau; Northern Ridge and Valley; Southern Ridge and Valley; and Cumberland Plateau and Mountains. Appalachian-Cumberland forests...

Influences of fiber orientation and milling on wood cellulose crystallinity were studied using jack pine wood. The fiber orientation effects were measured by sampling rectangular wood blocks in radial, tangential, and cross-sectional orientations. The influence of milling was studied by analyzing the unsieved and sieved milled wood fractions (all

Traditionally it has been accepted that the cell walls are made up of microfibrils which are partly crystalline. However, based on the recently obtained Raman evidence that showed that the interior of the microfibril was significantly disordered and water accessible, a new model is proposed. In this model, the molecular chains of cellulose are still organized along the...

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) have recently received much attention in the global scientific community for their unique mechanical and optical properties. Here, we conducted the first detailed exploration of the basic properties of CNC, such as morphology, crystallinity, degree of sulfation and yield, as a function of production condition variables. The rapid cellulose...

The structure of wood cell wall cellulose in its native state remains poorly understood, limiting the progress of research and development in numerous areas, including plant science, biofuels, and nanocellulose based materials. It is generally believed that cellulose in cell wall microfibrils has both crystalline and amorphous regions. However, there is evidence that...

A new method is proposed for estimation of cellulose crystallinity (CrI) based on 93 cm?1 Raman band in spectra of cellulose I materials. In this method (93-Raman), CrI was determined based on regression that was developed using the ratios of peak-heights of the 93 and 1096 cm?1 Raman bands (I93/I1096). For calibration...

A new method is described for producing high-lignin-containing and lignin-free cellulose nanocrystals from poplar wood (HLCNCs and LFCNCs, respectively). This was accomplished by first hydrothermally treating the poplar wood fibers at 170°C for 45 min in a Parr reactor. For obtaining HLCNCs, the treated fibers were directly hydrolyzed by 64% sulfuric acid whereas for...

We evaluated changes in forest structure related to fire severity after a wildfire in ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills, South Dakota, where 25% burned at low, 48% at moderate, and 27% at high severity. We compared tree mortality, fine (FWD) and coarse woody debris (CWD) and tree regeneration in areas burned under different severity. With low severity,...

Although X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been the most widely used technique to investigate crystallinity index (CrI) and crystallite size (L200) of cellulose materials, there are not many studies that have taken into account the role of sample moisture on these measurements. The present investigation focuses on a variety of celluloses and cellulose...

Given the need to conserve forest biodiversity and produce forest products, President Clinton?s vision for the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP, or Plan) was that it would provide ?a balanced and comprehensive strategy for the conservation and management of forest ecosystems, while maximizing economic and social benefits from forests? (USDA and USDI 1994: E-1). The Plan was...